iCade iPad Arcade Machine Makes Existing Apps Even More Fun

22 May 2012

iCade iPad Arcade Machine Makes Existing Apps Even More Fun

I think it’s fun to see people get creative with their gadgets.

As programmers we are constantly challenged to learn something totally new like the Corona SDK and simultaneously turn it into the next awesome app. Sometimes the ideas come easily and sometime they don’t. When they don’t come easily, that’s when we have really get creative.

So the next time you’re racking your brain to come up with something outside the box, try drawing on your previous experiences to create that new awesome thing. That’s what the folks at ION did when they created the iCade iPad Arcade Machine.

If you haven’t seen the iCade, watch the video review above to see how it works, but essentially it is an arcade style game controller for your iPad. The device plays on the classic arcade game theme and adds to the rebel feel of the iPad.

While you do have to put the unit together yourself, it sort of speaks to the concept that we can use any materials to mockup our ideas.

When the original Palm Pilot was being developed, it’s creator walked around the office with a block of wood in his hand. Palm prototyped their ideas before unleashing them on the world and at the time they were considered cutting edge.

Now the iCade may not be cutting edge, but it should help us to look at our apps with a slightly different from of reference. Yes, the form factor of a device plays a big part in what people will do with our apps, but that doesn’t mean we are limited by it either.

CoronaGeek